M72 in .308?

I have an M72 parts kit with a virgin barrel, the correct one, heavy with cooling fins. Since I have no receiver as of yet, I wondered how difficult it would be to convert it from 7.62x39 to 7.62x51? The bore is the same if I'm not mistaken, and 12mm could be made up with gentle movement. The barrel could handle the heavier pressure of the .308 round.

Please advise on this. I have read several other chamber change threads and have read that the .308 bolt has larger locking lugs. So would the lower rails have to be mounted lower? Having not seen a Kalashnikov chambered for this round I am unfamiliar.

I have an M72 parts kit with a virgin barrel, the correct one, heavy with cooling fins. Since I have no receiver as of yet, I wondered how difficult it would be to convert it from 7.62x39 to 7.62x51? The bore is the same if I'm not mistaken, and 12mm could be made up with gentle movement. The barrel could handle the heavier pressure of the .308 round.

Please advise on this. I have read several other chamber change threads and have read that the .308 bolt has larger locking lugs. So would the lower rails have to be mounted lower? Having not seen a Kalashnikov chambered for this round I am unfamiliar.

SEE MY 308 CONVERSION THREAD ITS A LONG READ BUT ITS FULL OF VERY GGO INFO THE BEST YOU WILL FIND ON THE NET READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL OF IT THEN DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE RISK. THE RAILS DONT NEED TO BE LOWER. YOU NEED TO READ THE THREAD FIRST ILL FIND THE LINK FOR YOU

IT NEEDS TO BE A DAMMM STICKY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for that link and all of the research and work that you did already! I had begun to read that thread earlier, very informative.
This is an additional question in relation to what you wrote above about pressure and what I read in yours and other threads. I am not new nor am I experienced at all factors regarding this topic. But something that always made me curious is the pressures of some cartridges being higher than others. 30-06 is higher than 8mm, which is roughly that of the 7.62x54r which is lower than a 7.62x39. Is it the type of powder? This might seem silly to some, but the varying size shells not necessarily having pressures with any correlation to each other is confusing.

Yes powder selections can play a HUGE part - which is why there are so many specifications in the reloading manuals. When you start asking those questions, you are getting into the fundamental cartridge design characteristics as well. It is hard to compare any particular cartridge to one another because the designs are all different. Apples to oranges.

I am personally convinced the AK design will power all but the most powerful of cartridges without modification. The locking lugs were bigger only on the Yugo AK designed .308 bolt, but on others the lugs are the same size. I can't remember how the Galil or Valmet .308 bolt looks... memory fuzzy on that design.

According to a discussion a friend had with some of the guys AT the Izzy factory, the 3rd lug on the .308 was there to provide better accuracy, not for more strength. I never followed up with him to verify this.

My .308 conversion works great, although I screwed up and drilled the gas hole WAY too big, so I have to vent more gas than I would like. If I did not vent the gas, the operating forces were way too high. Meaning more recoil and shorter life of the parts. Of course venting more gas = wasted gunpowder, however I don't plan to use it for long-range shooting.

Nice stuff Pookie.
As far as the barrel, the M72 heavy barrel can handle it, Zastava still makes the .308 version and by the specs on their site it looks like the receiver and barrel are the same from 39mm and 51mm cartridges.

Also, from what I've read, it looks like the front trunnion is machined more to accommodate the longer round.

My only real confusion at this point is the bullet diameter. I've read the difference between .311 and .308 is the issue. Maybe I read the posts wrong. My confusion is that I thought the 2 rounds were in metric 7.62x39 and 7.62x51. 7.62mm is 7.62mm no matter how you slice it. Is this mainly dealing with .308 Winchester rounds as opposed to NATO rounds?

Since rifling is present, you must consider the bore and the groove diameters.

7.62 is the bore, .30 inches. The depth of the grooves dictates the bullet size. With a bore of .30, the 7.62x39 has a nominal groove diameter of .311 while the 7.62x51 has a nominal groove diameter of .308. Hence the bullet differences.

I have a daughter. I tell her, "911 is what you dial after you're raped. 1911 is what you should have before they try."

I didn't see that explanation or at least didn't pick up on it. I'll have to read slower. In my enthusiasm I'm reading too quickly. I'm trying to read as much as possible to figure it out on my own but sometimes it's the little things that get away from me.

Since the kit has the finned .311 barrel, the logical choice is 7.65x53 Argentine Mauser. Just a bit longer than a .308, less pressure, fits M14 and G3 .308 magazines, probably others too; those are what I had on hand to check with.

You have to buy bulk brass from Graf or cut down .30-06 brass, but you use the same .311 bullet as the 7.62x54R or .303 British.

Reamerrentals.com has the 7.65 reamer for rent, if I remember right.

If you just want to blaze through a few boxes of ammo and leave the empties for someone to pick up, you probably won't want to shoot 7.65. Otherwise, it costs the same as reloading for 54R.

I am not new nor am I experienced at all factors regarding this topic. But something that always made me curious is the pressures of some cartridges being higher than others. 30-06 is higher than 8mm, which is roughly that of the 7.62x54r which is lower than a 7.62x39. Is it the type of powder? This might seem silly to some, but the varying size shells not necessarily having pressures with any correlation to each other is confusing.

ITS ALL IN WHAT THE FIRE ARM CAN HANDEL THERE ARE A LOT OF OLD 8MM OUT THERE SO SAMMI LIMITS WHAT US MANUFATURES CAN LOAD THE ROUND TO. SAME WITH OLD 45-70, 30-30,S ETC. A 8MM MAUSER ON A POST 98 ACTION CAN BE LOADED AS HOT OR HOTTER THAN A 30-06. IT JUST TAKES MORE POWDER. YOU WILL ALSO SEE EXAMPLES OF DIFFERANT VELOCITEYS FOR A SAME WEIGHT BULLET WITH THE SAME CHAMBER RPRESSURE. THIS IS BECAUSE ALTHOUGHT THE PRESSURE IS THE SAME IT IS FOR A LONGER PERIOID OF TIME. TAKE A 300 SAVAGE VS A 7.62X39 SAME BASIC PRESSURE ( CLOSE) BUT THE 300 SAVAGE CAN OUT DUE THE X39 BY CLOSE TO 300 FPS DUE TO THE LARGER CASE CAPACITY AND LONGER BURN TIME OF THE POWDER. THAT MY THEORY ANY WAY.

Since the kit has the finned .311 barrel, the logical choice is 7.65x53 Argentine Mauser. Just a bit longer than a .308, less pressure, fits M14 and G3 .308 magazines, probably others too; those are what I had on hand to check with.

You have to buy bulk brass from Graf or cut down .30-06 brass, but you use the same .311 bullet as the 7.62x54R or .303 British.

Reamerrentals.com has the 7.65 reamer for rent, if I remember right.

If you just want to blaze through a few boxes of ammo and leave the empties for someone to pick up, you probably won't want to shoot 7.65. Otherwise, it costs the same as reloading for 54R.

HMMM I DISAGREE HERE. WHY FOR GODS SAKE WOULD YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH ALL THE TROUBLE OF CUTTING ANDS REFORMING BRASS WHEN YOU CAN SIMPLY JUST USE A .311 BULLET IN A 308 WINCHESTER CASE????????????????????

JUST USE A 308 REAMER AND THEN USE A 311 NECK AND THROATER TO SET THE BARREL UP FOR A .311 BULLET. SIMPLE AND DONE THEN YOU CAN USE 308 OR 7.62X39 NATO BRASS AS IS. IF YOU GOT TO HAND LOAD WHY GO WITH SOMTHING THAT IS TRIPPLE THE WORK TO MAKE BRASS FOR. USE THE .311 EXPANDER WHEN YOU SIZE THE BRASS THATS IT. JSUT LIKE IF YOUR DOING 308X39 VS 7.62X39 SAME DIES, BRASS, JUS TUSE A DIFFERANT EXPANDER WHEN YOU SIZE. AND IN PINCH YOU CAN USE 308 BULLTS THAT LIKELY WILL SHOOT OK ANY WAY.

NOW IF THERE WAS SURPLUSS 7.65 AMMO AND BRASS LAYING AROUND IT WOULD BE DIFFERANT. IF YOU GOT TO RELOAD MIGHT AS WELL MAKE IT EASY NOT HARDER.

i WAS CONSIDERING A .311-300 SAVAGE ON A YUGO BARREL AWHILE BACK FOR A DIRT CHEAP HIGH POWER PISTOL BUILD. I DECIDED I DIDNT LIKE HOW CLOST THE NECK WAS THE WERE THE FACTOTY BARREL TURNED DOWN TO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. ON A HEAVY FINED BARREL IT SHOULD BE THICKER AND SAFER FOR THE LONGER CHAMBER